SEATTLE, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Case managers at health plans of all sizes face enormous pressure to refer high-quality care and support services that address the holistic needs of both plan members and their caregivers. The expense and difficulty of maintaining a nationwide local referral database of care providers, transportation, legal experts and other services is a major challenge that cuts into the profitability and brand reputation of health plan providers. The declining health of unpaid caregivers and a rapidly aging population further complicates the responsibility. SNAPforSeniors™, owner of the SNAPI data service which provides the most comprehensive national database of local care and support services in the U.S., believes the solution to these challenges involves streamlining member referral programs which increase health plan profits. The company shares the future of these programs in its new educational white paper, Streamlining Member Referral Programs--How Enhanced Provider Resource Directors Can Improve Care Outcomes and Reduce Hospital Admissions, located at http://www.snapforseniors.com/Services/DataLicensing/DataWhitePaper.aspx.

Many health care companies are adopting enhanced provider resource directories to supplement their physician and hospital directories. Designed to eliminate the burden and expense of building and maintaining a nationwide referral database, these solutions help case managers reduce caregiver medical claims, increase member engagement and reduce operating costs. They also allow case managers to spend less time managing data and more time enabling the best care outcomes for their members.

"Enhanced provider resource directories represent a major improvement over the data options previously available to case managers," said SNAPforSeniors' Co-CEO Eve Stern. "Now companies can profitably leverage a single trusted data source across their entire organizations, including case management, diseases management, utilization management and member services to better meet the needs of all populations served."

SNAPforSeniors has published a whitepaper that provides unique insights into the challenges of providing a high-quality national referral database for all populations. In addition, it offers important requirements to consider when evaluating enhanced provider resource directories solution providers.

A pioneer in health care provider data, SNAPforSeniors is uniquely positioned to help case management directors reduce the operating costs associated with a national referral program. By integrating SNAPforSeniors' SNAPI database, health plans can take advantage of all the benefits listed above, which results in improved caregiver health outcomes, reduced medical claims and increased profits.

"SNAPforSeniors has made it incredibly easy for IT organizations to integrate vital data by adopting a ubiquitous XML Web Service delivery system," said Ralph Brenner, SNAPforSeniors' chief technology officer. "The SNAPI Web Service Platform offers enterprise class data services, training and support for IT teams large or small. We help jumpstart IT integration by providing source code samples and documentation for Microsoft.Net and LAMP technology stacks."

SNAPforSeniors is the leading provider network management company in the U.S. for local care resources and support service information that enables the medical home model. With a national network of more 260,000 providers in 20 categories, the SNAPI service is a comprehensive data solution for health plans, call centers and consumer information publishers to help reduce hospital readmissions, provide better information to consumers, and reduce internal operating costs. The unique SNAPI web service platform offers a robust API option for companies to integrate valuable public and private community resources into existing applications and/or publish the provider resource information on consumer websites for increased member engagement and shared decision making.